Autumn Kale Quinoa Salad

4.67 from 3 votes

The perfect salad for fall! This Autumn Kale Quinoa Salad is made with a hearty base of kale and quinoa and topped with seasonal ingredients like pumpkin and apricot for a hearty fall salad perfect for meal prep.

Course: Salad

Cuisine: American

Keyword: Kale Salad

Servings: servings

Ingredients

1 sugar pumpkin
2 tbsp olive oil divided
½ teaspoon salt
1 tsp garlic powder
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 cup quinoa uncooked
6 cups curly kale chopped with leaves and stems removed
1 cup parsley chopped
540 mL chickpeas 1 can rinsed and drained
½ cup dried apricots chopped
½ cup feta cheese crumbled
½ cup shelled pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
3 green onions thinly sliced

For the maple lemon dressing

⅓ cup olive oil
1 tablespoon maple syrup
2 tablespoon lemon juice 1 lemon
½ teaspoon salt
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper powder
½ teaspoon ground cumin

Instructions

Roast the pumpkin: Peel, de-seed and slice pumpkin into 1 inch pieces (pierce the pumpkin with a fork before microwaving for 1-2 minutes to soften the skin and make it easier to cut).
Arrange pumpkin on a large sheet pan. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt, black pepper, garlic powder and chili powder. Bake at 425F for 30 minutes. Set aside.
While the pumpkin is roasting, cook quinoa according to package instructions.
Prepare the salad: To a large bowl add chopped kale. Drizzle with 1 tablespoon olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Massage the oil into the kale, to soften the leaves. This creates a less bitter taste!
Make dressing: by whisking together maple syrup, olive oil, lemon juice, salt, ground cayenne pepper, and ground cumin.
Assemble salad by add all toppings to the kale. Drizzle with dressing and toss to combine.

Notes

Substiutions:

Pumpkin can be replaced with roasted sweet potato or butternut squash (frozen also works great and doesn't need to be defrosted before roasting)!
Dried apricots can be replaced with dried cranberries
Pumpkin seeds can be replaced with chopped almonds, walnuts or pecans

*I have included an estimation of the nutrition information for this recipe below. However, always remember a recipe is so much more than just nutritional content and these numbers do not need to dictate your food choices. Please don't forget that both your body and soul need nourishment! The owner of this website is not liable for this estimation.

Nutrition

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